Bournonite with Siderite on Quartz

Item Description

In the modern era of mineral collecting, Bolivia has produced some of the finest examples of Bournonite in the world. I've seen some really impressive specimens of this rare lead copper antimony sulfosalt from the Machacamarca Mine over the last 20 years. In fact one piece that we sold was so good that it ended up on the cover of the May-June 2009 issue of the Mineralogical Record. This showy and fine quality piece features an attractive, sharp, metallic, silvery-grey color, tabular crystal of Bournonite with minor greenish-brown Siderite aesthetically sitting atop sculptural grey Quartz matrix. Several smaller Bournonite blades can be seen around the matrix for a nice touch The largest Bournonite crystal measures 2.8 cm across. This specimen is from a find in 2012 in Bolivia. There is a rough/contacted edge along the top of the main Bournonite crystal, so the piece is not damage free, but it's still superior to the majority I've handled from Machacamarca in recent years, especially from an aesthetic point of view. This piece was priced at $1,800 in the inventory.